Coming Home
by AllWasWellatPigfarts
Summary: Rachel's ex-husband takes matters into his own hands when he thinks that it is time for his step-daughter to meet her father.
1. Josh

A/N: Hey, new story. This is going to be multichapter and I've already written the first five and I'm working on the sixth so review and I'll put them up quickly ;]. This is a pretty basic story set up that I've never really thought worked with but this ended up in my mind and I had to write it down. Each chapter will focus on a character. It's not POV and may not be completely about them but I'll stay with that particularly character throughout the chapter. I hope you enjoy it =]

* * *

Josh Hanner had been divorced for almost a year now. He and his ex-wife had been civil and were managing to be friends. There had been no wronged party, they just realised that their relationship wasn't working and it would be best for both of them if they separated. He still saw their daughter quite often. The one issue that was now presenting itself as Lauren, their daughter headed towards fifteen, was that she wanted to know about her birth father.

Josh was not in fact Lauren's biological father but they had never let that get in the way of their relationship. He and his ex-wife had met when she was nineteen and he was twenty-two and Laurey was three. They had been friends for a couple years before deciding to become something more. He had been a father figure to Lauren for a long time and he always treated her as his own. She too always saw him as her father, but he could understand that she wanted to know her roots and find out about her father, and he was all for that. It was Lauren's mother, however, who would not budge on the subject. She thought Lauren was too young and he knew that she didn't know what to expect of her daughter's father if he was to find out.

The way Josh saw it, was that if Lauren was old enough to know what she wanted then they should give her the chance to find it and if it went wrong and she got hurt, then she would still have her loving parents there to support her and help her through it. Josh had never known his father and when he went looking for him, his father turned him away. He had gotten over it with the help of his family, as had his ex-wife who had a similar experience. She didn't want her own daughter to go through that though.

Josh, a successful Broadway director, had recently stepped in to direct Chicago. The previous director had needed to pull out due to personal reasons and he had been asked to take over. They had an amazing cast and he had been working with them for the last three weeks and had finally built up the courage to go against his ex-wife.

As sometimes happened, a production would bring in a big Hollywood name to be on Broadway, sometimes this would go well and other times it could just be seen as disastrous stunt casting. Jesse St. James, however, had already proved his singing and dance prowess in a couple of movie musicals that had been incredibly successful. His acting and singing were flawless in his portrayal of Billy Flynn, which was lucky because Josh was quite hesitant of having too much interaction with him. The previous director had spent a lot of time with him and so Josh rarely needed to speak to him alone.

Today was different. He wasn't going to talk to Jesse about the show. Lauren had been staying with him since Thursday and it was now Saturday. She had been asking him to tell her about her father. She was quite insistent and he could tell that it was creating a rift between the mother and daughter. He had been up all night trying to decide if this was the right thing to do. He knew that his ex-wife would be furious. Despite her successful Broadway career she had managed to keep her daughter out of the spotlight, and a big reason for this was that she didn't want Jesse to find out about her.

Josh had asked to see Jesse and the man was standing in front of him now.

"Hey." He spoke.

"Hi. I need to talk to you about something."

"Is it the courtroom scene because there are a few kinks that I would-"

"It's not about the show." He interrupted him. He gestured to the seat next to him in the empty theatre. Jesse sat down but was obviously confused.

"If it's not about the show then what-"

"It's difficult. I'm still not sure if I'm doing the right thing. I'm going to have to ask you to be patient." He chuckled slightly. He was about to possibly change this man's life and he was asking for his patience.

"Um… the thing is, I don't know whether to ease in to it would be better."

"Can you just tell me?" Jesse asked, starting to get agitated.

Josh grimaced. "My step daughter, my ex-wife's daughter is yours."

Jesse stared at him, mouth wide open in shock, eyebrows contorted and frozen.

"What?" Jesse finally muttered.

"Lauren, Laurey" He corrected himself. "She's fourteen, almost fifteen and she's your biological daughter." He waited for it to sink in. He could see Jesse working it over in his head, figuring out the dates and realisation dawned on his face.

"Rachel?" He choked and Josh nodded.

"She doesn't know I'm doing this." He informed him. "She'll probably be mad as hell when she finds out but Laurey's been asking about you for a while now and I think she deserves some information."

"What does she know?"

"Only what Rachel's told her."

Jesse grimaced.

"She told her you guys dated, you were older, you broke up and then you went to college before she told you she was pregnant. She hasn't told Laurey anything else about you or your relationship." He told him and Jesse shifted in his seat, feeling a slight edge of judgement coming from the man next to him.

"So she doesn't know who I am?"

"Well she knows who you are obviously but she doesn't know who you are to her."

Jesse nodded trying to sort through the questions flying through his mind.

"How's Rachel?" He asked quietly after a few moments of silence.

"She's good. She's working hard, as usual."

"She can't have been happy to hear that you're working with me."

"I, uh, kind of haven't told her yet. It's a delicate balance we have at the moment."

Jesse laughed softly before asking. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you get divorced?"

"It just wasn't working. We probably should never have been anything more than friends but it seemed right at the time."

"You're risking a lot by telling me about Laurey." It wasn't a question, just an observation. "Why? I don't deserve it."

"Laurey does." He said simply. "And I know that it's causing problems between her and Rachel. She can't understand why Rachel won't just give her your name or tell her anything about you. I think once it's out in the open they'll have a better relationship too." He paused. "Would you like to meet her?"

"Laurey?" He asked and Josh could already tell what the answer would be. He nodded in response. "Yes. When?"

"Laurey's staying with me until Monday. I could talk to her tonight and bring her with me to rehearsal tomorrow. You could take her for a meal or a coffee or something."

"What about Rachel?" Jesse asked.

"I'll figure it out." He told her. "She's in Ohio for the weekend so you won't run into her or anything."

"Why didn't you just tell Laurey my name?" Jesse asked.

"Rachel's biggest fear is that you would turn her away. So I wanted to make sure that you were interested in meeting your daughter before I got Laurey's hopes up. "

"I'm not going to do what Shelby did." Jesse promised and despite the conversation, Josh was surprised at the sincerity that suddenly cut through Jesse's tone.

"Good. I'll talk to Laurey tonight. I can't make any promises. She might decide not to come but I'll see you tomorrow Jesse." Josh said and he walked away, leaving the actor in the seat to grasp the life changing news he had just been given.

Josh walked quickly back to his apartment. He walked in the door and saw Laurey sitting in front of the TV with her laptop resting on her knees. Josh laughed at the irony; she was watching a Jesse St. James film.

They ate dinner and talked about their days and Laurey went into her room to go to bed. Josh knocked on the door a few minutes later and went in. They had decorated the room together when he bought the apartment. They had both been nervous about what their relationship would become now that he was no longer with her mother and he wasn't technically her father but they had stayed close. Josh knew from experience that sometimes Rachel was a bit too much and sometimes you just needed to get away. That was what he gave her.

"You know what we were talking about last night?" He started.

"Yeah." She said. Unlike her mother, she was very much to the point.

"What if I told you that you could meet him, your father, tomorrow, if you wanted?"

"How?" She asked uncertainly.

"I'm working with him." He told her, he also still hadn't told her that he was directing Chicago.

"Like a lighting guy?" She raised an eyebrow and Josh suddenly saw Jesse in her. It was quite obvious really. She had Rachel's dark hair but it was curly like Jesse's, she had his green eyes and many of her expressions tonight, he had seen on Jesse at some point in the last few weeks. It was disconcerting. Almost as if it was confirming that he actually was her father, the same way you can see Rachel in her, you can see that the rest of her is Jesse St. James.

"No." He laughed. "One of the actors."

Laurey bit her lip, like Rachel would when she was nervous. Josh sensed her hesitation.

"I can walk out of the room right now and we can pretend that this conversation never happened."

"No we can't." She was blunt and suddenly, Josh started to regret his decision. Maybe Rachel was right, she was too young, she doesn't know what she wants yet. "Who is he?"

Josh looked up at her; there was no turning back now. "Jesse St. James." He spoke softly.

"As in _the_ Jesse St. James?" She asked in shock.

"Yeah, I'm directing Chicago and he's playing Billy Flynn."

"Suddenly Mom refusing to watch any of his films makes so much more sense." She mused.

"That's all you have to say?" Josh teased.

"I don't know really. You said I could meet him?"

"Yeah. I spoke with him today, he wants to meet you."

"He does?"

"Yeah. He was shocked when I told him about you but he definitely wants to meet you."

"I do too." She told him.

"Okay tomorrow then. Sleep tight." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and walked out of the room.

He felt slightly guilty as he thought about Rachel. He had started what was undoubtedly going to be a very dramatic process but he consoled himself with the fact that he's sure Rachel needs it as much as Laurey does.


	2. Laurey

A/N: Thank you for your lovely reviews and to all of you who put it on alert =] Here's chapter two.

Disclaimer: I only own Laurey and Josh =]

* * *

Laurey sat in her bed, her mind reeling. Jesse St. James was her father. Someone who she had known about and seen on the big screen her whole life was her father. She wished she was in her mother's house so she could look around and see if there were any clues she missed; pictures, letters, anything that would give an indication as to who her mother had never gotten over.

She had always supposed that it must be hard to get over someone when you have a constant miniature reminder of them always around you but in the last couple of years Laurey started to sense that it was deeper than that. After her mom and Josh got divorced she managed to get her mother to open up more about her father. She hadn't got much but the way her mother spoke, well she'd never spoken like that about Josh.

There were so many emotions bubbling within her that she didn't know which one to focus on. She was excited about tomorrow but nervous as well. She wondered what he would be like. He was an amazing actor and his voice was incredible but apart from that she didn't know very much. She'd never been really into him or anything so she didn't know all those details that fans of actors tend to get. She decided to do a bit of research and booted up her laptop and went on youtube. She started watching interview after interview and thought he was very charming, a little bit arrogant but not so much that it's off putting, funny. He doesn't seem to have a girlfriend at the moment but he's had a few relationships with other actresses.

She got up early the next morning, unable to stay in bed any longer. She had a shower and got dressed. She was sitting at the breakfast table when Josh walked in. He stopped in surprise to see her sitting there but then smiled slightly. They ate breakfast quietly and quickly.

"Will Mom be mad when she finds out?" She asked.

"Probably. But with me, not you." He told her.

"Okay." She nodded in acceptance.

"Okay then, let's go." He said and they headed out the door.

The walk over to the theatre felt like the longest of Laurey's life and she could feel the butterflies building up within her. Just before turning the corner to the stage door she stopped.

"What if he doesn't like me?" She whispered.

"That's impossible." Josh smiled.

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

Laurey didn't move for a moment but then she collected herself and started walking. When they turned the corner they saw Jesse pacing in front of the stage door and Laurey froze. Jesse who hadn't noticed them yet was muttering to himself. Laurey realised that she was doing the same and she felt the confidence to go over to him.

Josh stayed back and let Laurey do this alone. She was sure that each of her steps was echoing as she got closer and closer to him. When she was about two metres away from him he looked up. He froze.

"Hi." She said shyly.

"Hi. Wow." He breathed out. "You're actually real. I was starting to wonder if I imagined yesterday." He joked.

"As a teenager I often do feel invisible however I believe my physical existence can be proven." She said and she saw him smirking. "What?" She asked.

"Hello Rachel Berry junior." He teased. She just shook her head and laughed. "So how do you want to do this?" He asked. "Do you want to go for coffee or something?"

"I know a really good place a couple of blocks away." She told him. She turned around to say goodbye to Josh and then hugged him. Jesse shook Josh's hand and they headed off.

"So…" Jesse said.

"So…" Laurey repeated. "This is weird, isn't it?"

"Just a little. It's just so sudden." Jesse said. "Good though." He quickly added.

"Well it's quick for you. Strangely, I've always known that I had a father." She joked.

"Right. Of course." He laughed. "So tell me about yourself."

"I can't just go on and on about myself." She rebuked.

"Are you sure that you're mine and Rachel's kid? Because talking about ourselves is something we're both very good at." He smirked.

"How about we just both ask small get to know you questions?"

"Okay. I'll go first. What's your full name?"

"Lauren Jessica Berry, but everyone calls me Laurey. It's what my mom wanted to call me originally but she thought Laurey Berry sounded weird." She said.

"Oklahoma." Jesse said.

"Yeah, that's what she always told me. I'm guessing she got Jessica from Jesse."

"Looks like it." Jesse smiled softly.

"What's your favourite song?" Laurey asked.

"Hello by Lionel Richie."

"My mom hates that song." She said and then instantly regretted it when she saw the hurt that flickered across Jesse's face.

"She has every reason to." He told her before carrying on. "What about yours?"

"Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits."

Jesse raised an eyebrow. "Not what I was expecting." He said.

"Yeah, my mom and I have quite different tastes. I'm proud of her and love going to see her in shows but it's not my thing." She told him, surprising herself at how open she was being. "I'm in a band though."

"Really? You play an instrument?"

"Yeah, I learnt guitar and piano. I play guitar in the band and I'm the lead singer."

"Didn't expect anything less." He smiled.

"Do you play any instruments?"

"Piano and guitar. Same as you." He smiled.

"We're here." She told him nodding to the coffee shop that was coming up on the left.

They queued and ordered their drinks before sitting down in a couple of armchairs in the corner.

"What were you and my mom like together?" She asked

"What's your mom told you about me?" Jesse responded.

"Not much. She told me that you guys dated in high school and it was complicated. She said that you were an amazing singer and that she never told you that she was pregnant."

"She was too kind." He said. Jesse looked down and wondered if his daughter would still want to know him after what he was about to tell her. "I hurt her. Pretty bad."

"What happened?" She pressed.

"Your mother's mother, Shelby, was my Glee club coach. We were national champions and suddenly out of the woodwork came some little train that could Glee club who've started getting a bit of attention. We decided, Shelby and I, to go to their sectionals and see what all the fuss was about. Shelby had told me what their set list was before we got there and we sat there as all their songs were being sung by the other groups. I thought it was funny; we wouldn't even have to take them out. Shelby seemed kind of upset though." He paused to see her reaction but noticed she was just listening.

"Anyway, New Directions saved themselves. Your mom came out singing Don't Rain on my Parade. She was amazing, it was lacking a bit of emotional depth but she was so talented. I couldn't take me eyes of her." He smiled wistfully. "After the competition Shelby admitted to me that Rachel was her daughter and asked me to befriend her. One day about a month later I was in the music store and I saw her. I forgot about Shelby's request and went over to talk to her. I convinced her to sing with me in front of every. We sang Hello by Lionel Richie. We started dating and when Shelby found out she reminded me of my promise to bring Rachel to her. I carried that around and I felt so horrible but I really did like Rachel and so I pushed it to the back of my mind and told Shelby I was doing everything I could. Sometimes I could even forget completely. Anyway, I ended up transferring to McKinley because Rachel would never trust me if I was on the opposing team."

"Did you transfer for my mom or for Shelby?" Laurey asked critically.

"Both. I really liked Rachel and wanted to be with her but I couldn't help the fact that Shelby had done so much for me. She was like a mother to me while I was in Vocal Adrenaline and this was the first thing she'd asked me to do for her. I cared about her."

"Do you still talk to her?"

"No, we lost touch after everything happened with your mom."

"So what happened then?"

"Rachel and I were dating and for the most part it was good. One day we got to talking about dreams and she told me that hers was to find out who her mother was."

"Her dream was to be a star." Laurey said accusingly.

"That was an inevitability." Jesse answered. "I told her I would help her find her mother. I planted a tape that Shelby had given me in a baby box and gave it to Rachel. I made her listen to it. After she had the tape Shelby made me go back to Vocal Adrenaline. She didn't know that our relationship was real, she thought I was just doing her bidding."

"She sounds heartless." Laurey said and Jesse didn't particularly want to defend Shelby.

"She reminded me of my scholarship and how my only way of getting out of Ohio was another national championship. I went back without telling Rachel. She found Shelby then and Shelby turned her away. I was so mad but Shelby threatened to tell Rachel everything if I went back to her, so I stayed. I didn't want her knowing the part I played in that disaster."

"So you just left her?"

"Not exactly. Now I'm definitely not proud of this. I was a selfish, immature kid. I wasn't a nice person. I loved Rachel but I wouldn't put that before getting out of Ohio. Vocal Adrenaline would always try to funkify our competition, so we went into the McKinley auditorium and performed Another One Bites the Dust. It was how Rachel found out that I had transferred back to Carmel. We teepeed their choir room too. Then Finn and Puck slashed our tires and the rest of my team wanted to get revenge. When I tried to stop them they pushed it further. They decided to forget the team and just go after Rachel. They egged her. I egged her. Then I left her. I won regionals and never saw her again."

"That's horrible." She said and Jesse was worried by the minimum reaction.

"I know. I've regretted it every day since. You have to believe me when I say that it the lowest moment in my entire life and it kills me to tell you about it, but you should know. I'm not that boy anymore. I never wanted anything like that to happen."

"So why did it?"

"Because I was weak. They pushed me and I was too pathetic to tell them where to stick it. Too focused on my career to consider changing it to protect Rachel."

"I don't know what to say about this."

"I understand, but please know that I did love her. I can't change what happened and I can't even explain it properly to myself but I would give everything to take it back."

"I believe you. You made a mistake."

"I'm sorry."

She nodded accepting it. The managed to move past the conversation and focus back on getting to know each other. They spent the day together, ordering lunch as it got later and the Jesse walked her back to the theatre. They exchanged numbers and it was soon time for them to say goodbye.

"When will I get to see you again?"

"Soon hopefully." He smiled. "But you can call me anytime." He promised. He gave her a hug and she hugged him back. He felt her tighten the hug and he tried to stop any tears from falling.

"Bye." She whispered.

"See you later." He spoke. He stepped out of the hug and turned to Josh. "Thank you." He said and shook his hand.

Laurey walked home with Josh and couldn't stop talking about her day with Jesse and Josh decided that whatever Rachel's reaction was, it would be worth it. It would work out in the end.

"Did you know about their relationship?" Laurey asked later that night.

"Yeah, your mom told me a long time ago."

"And you still wanted me to know him?"

"He was a kid when that happened. It was a stupid mistake and it doesn't change the fact that he's your father and after working with him I could tell that he wasn't that boy anymore."

"That's pretty much what he said. Do you think Mom will see it like that?"

"No. I think he hurt her and I think it's going to take more than an explanation and an apology for her."

"But why? It was so long ago, so much has happened since then."

"He broke her heart." He answered as if that was enough.

It wasn't for Laurey. What Jesse had done was horrible she knew that much but she had always seen her Mom as a forgiving person, how could she hold this against Jesse for this long. How could she let it get in the way of the fact that he was her father? As Laurey lay in bed she began to get more and more angry at her mother. For her entire life, her mother had put herself first. She had put her own heartbreak before her daughter's chance for a relationship with her father. Laurey had no doubt in her mind that Jesse would have been there for her once he knew about her. He was a good guy.

\o\

When Laurey got home from school on Monday her mother was in the kitchen pouring herself a cup of tea.

"Laurey!" She exclaimed as she ran over to give her daughter a hug. Laurey didn't respond. Instead she shrugged Rachel off of her.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked cautiously. "What have I done?"

"Oh, because it's always about you, isn't it?"

"Well I assumed that since you pushed me away that I had done something to upset you."

"Well you assume correctly." She spoke sarcastically and walked away from her mother.

"Lauren Jessica Berry, come back here right now and explain yourself!" Rachel yelled.

"No. I'm not the one has explaining to do."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rachel asked, following her into her room.

"Why did you never tell me who my father was?"

"Why are you talking in the past tense?" Rachel asked nervously.

"Oh my god!" Laurey laughed bitterly. "I'm talking in the past tense because I met him. I spent Sunday with him."

"How did you-"

"Josh arranged it. At least someone put me before themselves."

"Everything I have ever done has been for you." Rachel spoke severely.

"No, you kept Jesse away because he hurt you, that wasn't for me."

"I was protecting you. He couldn't be trusted, there's no way he would have stepped up." Rachel defended.

"Yes he would have."

"Oh and you know that after one day do you?" Rachel asked her daughter sarcastically.

"Either way, I probably know him better than you ever did." Laurey spat. She instantly regretted it when she saw her mother's hurt look but she didn't want to be the one to give in. Her mother was in the wrong.

Rachel didn't respond, instead she walked out of the room closing the door behind her. Laurey grabbed her bag that she had yet to unpack and walked back out.

"I'm going to stay with Josh for a while. I can't be here, with you." She said.

"Do not walk out that door." Rachel commanded.

"Just watch me." Laurey said and stormed out. She tried not to cry when she thought about how mad her mom would be, she just focused on how mad she was.

* * *

A/N: Reviews make the world go round =]

and a shameless plug for my one shot 'We'll get there one day.' I would read it, I'm just saying =P ;]


	3. Rachel

Rachel crumpled onto her sofa, unsure of what to do. Her fourteen year old daughter had just stormed out of her Manhattan apartment. She trusted that she was going to Josh's but she couldn't believe what she had come home to.

Laurey had been asking about Jesse for a while but Rachel had made a conscious decision not to tell her until she was eighteen. Thinking how much better it would have been for her if Shelby had just waited until she was eighteen. They had been fighting about it a lot recently but Rachel also knew that her daughter was a teenager and these few years would be difficult. It made sense considering her parentage. She and Jesse were both quite devious, determined and hot tempered. Rachel remembered being a teenager and how much she had wanted to find out about Shelby but it had ended up being a disappointment and Rachel didn't want Laurey to feel that so early. She wanted to be enough for her daughter. She didn't want her daughter to get hurt and Jesse would hurt her, she was sure of it. She hadn't wanted to see Jesse, but it was for Laurey as well.

When she had found out she was pregnant Jesse was back in Vocal Adrenaline, it had actually been the weekend of nationals and there was no way she would call him up then. They'd only slept together once; it had been just after he'd transferred to McKinley. Mercedes had sung Beautiful and it had caused her and Jesse to really open up to each other. They talked about their families and their insecurities and fears. She'd felt so close to him that when he had started to undo her shirt, she felt no hesitation in letting him. When she'd taken the test she'd been devastated, she was sure her life was over but with the help of her family and the glee club she got through it and in the end she decided to keep her daughter. She couldn't give her up. From that point on, everything she did was for her daughter. She was still doing her best to achieve her dreams but she always made sure that it wouldn't take her away from her daughter for too long, which was why she worked with Josh a lot early in her career. He always helped her when she needed it, but now he had betrayed her. She couldn't believe that he had gone behind her back to talk to Jesse.

She tried to figure it out, how they would meet, when she remembered that Jesse was in town playing Billy Flynn. She had heard a rumour that Josh had taken over as director but had dismissed it. Surely he would tell her if he was working with her ex, with Laurey's father.

At least she knew where she could find him now. She stormed out of her apartment, ignoring the hurt for the time being and focusing on the anger. She jumped in a cab once she hailed and told him to take her to the theatre that she knew Chicago was playing in. She knew it would be the middle of rehearsal but she would not wait. She paid the cab driver and walked up to the stage door. She walked in and there was no one around to stop her. She saw her friend Jennifer who was playing Roxy standing on stage with Jesse and Josh. They were talking and she could tell that Josh was trying to give them direction, but apparently something was just too funny for them to stay professional. Rachel's anger bubbled over as she saw them laughing together. She could imagine them conspiring against her and she couldn't stop herself any longer. She didn't know what she was going to say but she was going to make sure that they knew how angry she was.

She walked onto the stage ignoring the small crowd spread throughout the theatre. Neither Josh nor Jesse noticed her but Jennifer had seen her, and seeing Rachel's expression had stepped away from Josh slightly.

Rachel pushed Jesse out of her way and he looked affronted until he realised it was Rachel standing in front of him, facing Josh. This was not going to be pretty.

Impulsively Rachel lifted her hand and slapped Josh, his head whipping to the side. The theatre was silent and the slap echoed through the professional acoustics.

Rachel abhorred violence but she would make an exception in the current circumstances.

"How dare you." She spoke sharply.

"Rachel…" He tried.

"How dare you go behind my back over something so life changing for _my_ daughter? You had no right." She spat.

"She deserved to know."

"It wasn't your decision to make!" Rachel shouted.

"She's old enough-"

"She's never going to be old enough to be hurt by him."

"I didn't just through her to the lions. He's not going to hurt her."

"Oh, I'm glad your expert judgement was in play on this one."

"I'm not going to hurt her." Jesse spoke from behind her.

Rachel turned back to him and glared. "And I'm meant to take your word on that, am I?"

She turned back to Josh. "I hope your proud of yourself. You've turned my daughter against me." She said.

"You two were fighting over this way before I got involved."

"It wasn't your place to get involved."

"Not my place?" He scoffed. "I've been a part of that girl's life for the last twelve years. Don't tell me what my place is."

"This decision was mine. You're not her father."

"No, you're right." He tried to ignore the hurt. "Jesse is, and they both deserved to know that and you were never going to give them that."

"One, I was going to tell her when she was eighteen and two I don't owe him anything." She screamed.

"Maybe not, but every child needs their father."

"She had you." Rachel spoke.

"I'm not her father, remember?"

"Well you pretty much are. She'll be staying with you, I don't know how long for."

"You kicked her out?" Josh asked in shock.

Rachel looked hurt at the accusation. "No, she left. Like I said, she hates me now." Her voice broke at the end and Josh softened. She turned to leave and Jesse grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me." She said.

"We need to talk."

"No, we don't. You are not to come anywhere near me or my daughter ever again, do you understand me?"

"I won't do that."

"Then I'll get a restraining order."

"Then I'll talk to my lawyer and I'll get custody."

"Good luck with that." Rachel rolled her eyes and left trying to ignore the feeling of dread building up within her.

Not caring that it was only half four on a Monday afternoon Rachel headed into a bar close by and sat on a stool at the bar and ordered a drink. She could lose everything; Jesse could take away everything from her, again.


	4. Jesse

"Are you really going to sue for custody?" Josh asked Jesse as they stood on the stage. Everyone was watching in rapt attention, this was better than the play had been rehearsing. All of them, Jennifer included had always assumed that Josh was Laurey's father, to find out that it's Jesse St. James was a borderline scandal.

"If she's not going to let me see Laurey otherwise, what choice do I have?" Jesse said.

"Please don't rush into anything. If you go in guns blazing Rachel will never back down. In fact she's likely to come back twice as angry."

"I know, but I want her to know that I'm serious. I'm not just going to leave."

Realising that they had an audience Josh ended rehearsal early and sent everyone home.

Jesse headed to his New York apartment that he had always had but rarely used. He had spent much of his career avoiding New York for the simple fact that he saw it as Rachel's territory. They took a coast each and conquered but when Jesse had been asked to be on Broadway he couldn't turn it down. He had never expected it to lead him to where he was right now.

He had never in a million years expected to find out that he had a child with Rachel Berry. He couldn't believe that she had kept it from him for so long. He knew that he hurt her but did she really hate him that much that she would keep his child away from him? Or did she really think that he was such a monster that he would thoughtlessly hurt his own child. He figured that he probably didn't want the answer to that.

Jesse knew that Josh was right. Rachel would not respond well to him fighting her and it would probably destroy her relationship with Laurey and they would both lose. He didn't want to hurt her, he was angry with her but he wasn't out to get her. That wasn't fair. As much as she was angry and hurt, she had probably been too scared to tell him and then it would have gotten to the point where it had been left to long. He also knew that her experience with Shelby was shaping a lot of her views on this topic. He also knew that he was partially responsible for that as well and he had never hated Shelby more.

His phone started ringing and it disrupted his thoughts.

"Hello." He answered.

"Hi Jesse it's Josh. I hate to do this but Rachel didn't go home and I can't find her. I've been looking for a while but I need to get back to Laurey, she was really upset. Anyway I was wondering if you could take over looking for her. I'm kind of worried."

"Um, yeah sure." He agreed hesitantly. "Is Laurey okay?"

"She's mad at Rachel but she feels guilty as well. She won't tell me what she said but it sounds like she said something to Rachel to hurt her. I would ask someone else but then I'd have to explain and that would probably piss Rachel off even more."

"Okay, it's fine. I'll go and look for her."

"Let me know if you find her.

"Okay, bye." He said and hung up. He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

It was now eleven at night and Jesse had been looking around bars for about an hour now and he finally saw Rachel sitting in one. He walked in and made his way over to her. He looked to the bartender for some sense of how inebriated she was and he just shook his head, indicating to Jesse that she was pretty far gone by this point.

"Come on." Jesse put his arm around her waist to lift her off the bar stool she was currently perched on.

"I am not going anywhere with you." She spat and pushed his arm away from her.

"I'm just going to take you home."

"What, to my lovely empty apartment? No thank you." She downed the last of the drink in front of her.

"Rachel, you need to sleep."

"Jesse, you need to leave." She mimicked.

"Not without you baby." He decided the best way might be to purposely piss her off. That might make her storm out, so he would easily catch up with her and take her home.

"Ugh, I hate you."

"I'm not too fond of you right now either." He said and sat down next to her.

She snorted loudly. "Were you ever?" She sneered. He was about to respond but she carried on. "But what does it matter, right? I mean everyone loves Jesse. You don't even have to do anything and my daughter prefers you, my mother prefers you. They all choose you and I'm left alone. Again. You're going to make her think you're amazing and she's going to hate me for keeping you away." She turned then to look him dead in the eye. "Then you'll break her heart. Just like you did to me."

"I did love you." He implored.

"I know. You told me as you smashed an egg on my forehead, remember?"

Jesse cringed at the bitterness dripping from each word.

"I'm sorry."

"I don't care." She said. "Goodnight Jesse." She stepped up but stumbled. He caught her around the waist and before she had a chance to protest he lifted her up and carried her out of the bar. She still fit into his arms perfectly. It was then that he had noticed that she had passed out in his arms.

"Dammit Rachel. What am I supposed to do now? I don't know where you live." He spoke to her unconscious form. He eventually decided that his only option was to take her to Josh's. He would take her back to his but she probably would be less than grateful in the morning and he didn't particularly want to deal with her hung over. Luckily Josh didn't live far from the bar so he walked back, carrying Rachel in his arms the entire way.

Luckily someone held the door open for him into the building and he got in the lift to go up to Josh's apartment. Without the use of his hands, his only option was to kick on the door. It wasn't too late so Jesse didn't think that they would be asleep.

Josh came to the door and his jaw dropped at the sight in front of him.

"What the hell?" A voice from behind them asked. Laurey got up from her spot on the sofa and came over to the doorway.

"Are you going to let me in or am I just going to stand here? By the way I've been carrying her for three blocks and she's a bit of a dead weight right now." He said.

"Oh sure." Josh said as he stepped back and let Jesse in. Jesse laid her down softly on the sofa and positioned her comfortably.

"What happened to her?" Laurey asked sounding upset.

"She drank too much and passed out. Nothing to worry about." Jesse told her and she made a face.

"She won't be happy when she wakes up here." Josh said.

"I know, but it would be worse if she woke up at mine and since I don't know where she lives those were my only options."

"I don't want her here." Laurey spoke up. She was looking at her mom with an expression that put everything Rachel had said to Jesse into perspective.

"Well you'll probably be gone to school before she wakes up, so you won't have to talk to her." Josh told her.

"Whatever." Laurey stated. "Goodnight." She turned, smiled at Jesse and went into her bedroom.

"Rachel never gets drunk." Josh spoke.

"She was really upset." Jesse muttered. "I'm gonna talk to Laurey."

Jesse knocked on her bedroom door and waited for a reply. She told him to come in and she smiled when she saw him.

"Hey."

"Hey." He responded.

"With the way my mom was earlier I didn't think I'd get to see you again."

"I'm working on that." He said.

"I know, but my mom's not going to budge on this." She said.

"I know. I've actually decided that I'm not going to go down the legal route."

"What?" She exclaimed. "Then I definitely won't get to see you."

"It wasn't very likely that I would win anyway." He told her solemnly. "I've hurt your mom too much Laurey, I'm not going to do it again."

"But this is her fault!" She shouted, her frustration growing.

"It really isn't. If I had been who she deserved all those years ago, it wouldn't be like this. It's my fault."

"She could've told you."

"Not really." He said. "And I get why she didn't. I'm angry with her but I get it." He said.

"So you're just going to give up because my mom pulled the bambi eyes?"

"She didn't pull the bambi eyes." He laughed. "But, she made me realise that I need to get her to forgive me. I can't come in and take away the most valuable thing in her whole life. That's not fair. I want to know you, but she's your mother. She loves you more than anything and everything she's done has been to protect you. I hate that she thought you needed protecting from me, but I'll prove to her that you don't. I'm not giving up; I'm doing this the right way for all of us." He said.

"But how long will that take?" She asked sadly.

"I don't know, but remember that your mom loves you and you are so lucky to have her. Don't push her away."

"But-"

"Laurey, I had her in my life once and I ruined it. I've regretted that every day since. She may be bossy, loud and high maintenance but I wouldn't have her any other way, would you?"

Laurey shook her head in agreement and smiled at Jesse.

"You still love her." She spoke.

"Who knows?" He responded ambiguously and kissed her on the forehead before walking out of the room.

He walked out into the living room and saw that Rachel had woken up and was now running towards the bathroom. Jesse sighed and motioned to Josh that he would take it.

"It's fine." Josh said.

"I brought her here. I'll look after her."

"Okay, well goodnight."

Jesse nodded and went into the bathroom after Rachel. She was on her knees in front of the toilet one of her hands holding her hair back, the other gripping onto the toilet bowl to steady herself.

Jesse brushed her hair back from her face and held it in his hand freeing up her left hand. He knelt next to her and rubbed her back.

"Come on, Rach. Get it all out." He encouraged but grimaced as she threw up.

"Stop pulling faces, this is your fault." She told him just before throwing up again.

"I'm sorry did I force all those tequila shots and cocktails down your throat." He spoke once she was done.

"It's your fault." She continued. "The last time I threw up was your fault as well." She threw up again.

"Of course, I made you sick. I made sure all the bacteria would come after you."

"No you got me pregnant and I had terrible morning sickness." She admonished and he laughed. "I think I'm done." She said.

"Lovely." He said, wrinkling his nose as he flushed the toilet.

"Like you haven't thrown up from drinking." She said as she started to brush her teeth with what she knew was the spare toothbrush.

"Yes but that was in my college days. You are a respectable grown up lady with a child." He teased as she finished cleaning up.

"I had a child in my college days." She defended. "This is the closest I've come to not having a child in fourteen years." She said looking down.

"I'm not going to try and take her away Rach."

"You're not going to have to try. I've pushed her away, just like everyone else."

"No. She's a teenager, she'll come around in a couple of days when she realises that she loves you and misses you and never meant to hurt you." He pulled her in for a hug and Jesse knew that the only reason that Rachel let him is because she was still quite drunk, despite throwing up all the alcohol in her system.

Jesse wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her back into living room, sitting down with her on the sofa. She leant on him but deciding she would be more comfortable lying down, moved so that she was lying on her back with her head in his lap, looking up at him. He stroked her hair and closed her eyes.


	5. Laurey II

Laurey tiptoed out of her bedroom, hoping to be able to get a glass of water without being seen but she stopped when she heard voices.

"What was it like being pregnant?" She heard Jesse ask.

"Scary. Depressing. Fun. Weird. It's so many things. It's hard to get your head around."

"How did your Dad's react?"

"They were upset but they supported my decisions."

"Did you always plan on keeping her?"

"I thought about adoption and I kept going back and forth. I didn't really decide until I held her, I knew that I would never be able to let her go after that."

Laurey knew that, her mother had always been open with her about her pregnancy and how hard it had been. Laurey had always thought that it been Rachel's way to stop her getting pregnant as a teenager.

"I wish you'd been able to call me. I know it's my fault but I can't believe I missed it all. First steps, words, day of school. All of its gone." He said wistfully.

"But there's so much left. Her first real boyfriend, her graduation, college, wedding, career… it's not too late. Don't let Shelby fool you, you always need your parents."

"You're going to let me be there for all of those things?" Laurey hated the doubt in his voice and hoped that he wouldn't just leave it her mother didn't let him be there.

"Only if you promise me that you will be there for them if I do." Laurey smiled to herself.

"I will. Rachel I'm sorry for everything."

"I know. I think I forgave you a long time ago." She told him. "It's just difficult to forget." Rachel opened her eyes and looked up at him.

He was looking away from her, out the window but Laurey could see the anguish on his face in the reflection. "I'm so sorry." He repeated. "I really did love you."

"Me too." She heard her mother admit.

"So do you think we can do this, be parents together?"

"Of course. Everything we do, we do well." She told him confidently and he laughed bringing his hand to rest on her stomach. "Sing something." She commanded.

"What?"

"I haven't heard you sing in such a long time. The last was Bohemian Rhapsody and you were amazing but I couldn't enjoy it because I hated you."

"And you'll be able to enjoy it now because you don't hate me?" He joked.

"Something like that." She smiled.

"Well what do you want to hear?" He smiled fondly at her.

"You pick." She told him.

He thought for a moment and then decided on the perfect song so he started to sing quietly to her.

_A lovestruck Romeo, sings the streets of serenade  
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made  
Find a streetlight, steps out of the shade  
Says something like, "You and me, babe, how about it?"_

Laurey smiled as soon as she heard him start to sing. He was even better to listen to in person.

_Juliet says, "Hey, it's Romeo, you nearly gave me a heart attack"  
He's underneath the window, she's singing  
Hey, la, my boyfriend's back"  
You shouldn't come around here, singing up at people like that  
Anyway what you gonna do about it?_

_Juliet, the dice was loaded from the start  
And I bet and you exploded in my heart  
And I forget, I forget the movie song  
When you gonna realize, it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?_

Jesse stared into Rachel's eyes as he sang those lines, hoping she would feel the same significance that he did.

_Come up on different streets, they both were streets of shame  
Both dirty, both mean, yes and the dream was just the same  
And I dream your dream for you and now your dream is real  
How can you look at me, as if I was just another one of your deals?_

_you can fall for chains of silver, you can fall for chains of gold  
You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold  
You promised me everything, you promised me thick and thin  
Now you just say, "Oh, Romeo, yeah, you know  
I used to have a scene with him"_

_Juliet, when we made love, you used to cry  
I said, "I love you like the stars above, "I love you till I die"  
And there's a place for us, you know the movie song  
When you gonna realize, it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?_

_I can't do the talk like the talk on the TV  
And I can't do a love song like the way it's meant to be  
I can't do everything but I'd do anything for you  
I Can't do anything except be in love with you_

_And all I do is miss you and the way we used to be  
All I do is keep the beat, the bad company  
And all I do is kiss you, through the bars of a rhyme  
Juliet, I'd do the stars with you any time_

Jesse put his heart into it as he sang, this would be the only way he could pour his heart to Rachel. 

_Juliet, when we made love, you used to cry  
I said, "I love you like the stars above, I'll love you till I die"  
And there's a place for us, you know the movie song  
When you gonna realize, it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?_

Now the time was right though, Jesse thought to himself.

_A lovestruck Romeo, he sings the streets of serenade  
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made  
Find a convenient streetlight, steps out of the shade  
He says something like, "You and me, babe, how about it?"_

"That's Laurey's favourite song." Rachel said.

"I know." He smiled smugly and Rachel looked surprised. "Suits us though, doesn't it?"

"Does it?" She asked coyly.

"I think it does."

"And you're always right." She was joking but Laurey could tell that she agreed on some level. He watched her fall asleep and not long after fell asleep himself, a smile on his face.

The visual in front of her was something she was sure she would always remember. They were so close, so comfortable with each other. She knew her mother was drunk but maybe it would make things easier in the morning. She could see her parents together; she could see them being a real family. She loved Josh but there was always an elephant in the room, they were never as comfortable as her mom and dad looked in that moment.

She went to bed happier than she'd been in a long time.

When she woke up the next morning she saw that her mom and Dad were still asleep on the sofa. Josh looking on from the kitchen with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Morning." He said.

"Hey."

Laurey grabbed a slice of toast and headed out the front door, closely followed by Josh.

"Why are you leaving so early?"

"Don't want another slap." He explained.

"Sorry about that." She said.

"It's okay, but you need to give your mom a break. She loves you; she doesn't want to lose you."

"I know." She nodded and headed off down the road.

After school she went to Josh's to pick up her stuff and headed back home. She slowly walked up to the front door, dreading having to apologise and seeing her mom's hurt face but she knew she had to. It would depend on her whether her parents would get closer or grow further apart. She walked in and saw her mom sitting on the sofa, wearing her pyjamas with a blanket wrapped around her. She looked around when she heard the door open and broke into a huge smile when she saw Laurey standing there.

Laurey then saw a slight hesitance creep in and she wanted to cry, she didn't want that.

"Can I come home?"

"You don't have to ask." Rachel said and patted the spot on the sofa next to her.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Terrible. Never drink." She said seriously but then cracked a smile.

"I'm so sorry mom. I shouldn't have said what I said."

"It's okay. I'm sorry I was so stubborn if you think you're ready to know your father then I should let you."

"I really like him mom." Laurey told her.

"He makes it easy." She said.

"He told me about your relationship. He's really sorry."

"I know."

"I heard you two talking last night." She admitted slyly.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think he still loves you." Rachel said nothing. "I think you still love him but you don't want to admit it."

"I think you need to stop watching the CW. Not every teen romance is epic. Sometimes it just is what it is."

"Yeah, but not you two. You're perfect for each other."

"Stop talking now, you're making my head hurt." Rachel admonished.

"Hey!" She shrieked and Rachel gave her a dirty look.

"I love you mom, you know that right?"

Rachel stopped and looked at her daughter.

"Of course I do and I love you too baby." She hugged her. "So much." She whispered.

"Did you and Jesse talk again this morning?" Laurey asked.

"Are we still on this? And no, he was gone before I woke up."

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation and Laurey made her way over to get it. She opened the door to reveal Jesse standing behind it holding a bag of take out.

"I figured she wouldn't be cooking so I took my chance on her still liking me when she's sober." He spoke in a stage whisper and winked at Laurey who smiled and moved to let him in.

"I have a hangover, I'm not deaf." She said.

"And whose fault is that?" He said as he walked in and made his way over to the armchair next to where Rachel was sitting.

"I thought we went through this. It's yours. It's always your fault."

"I'll accept the blame for the morning sickness but you, Rachel Barbara Berry are a fully functioning adult. You should take responsibility for your actions." He jokingly lectured as he got up to help Laurey with plates and cutlery.

"How did you find out where we live?" Rachel asked.

"Josh."

"Is the food-"

"Vegan." He responded.

"What's with the one word answers?" Rachel asked.

"I'm not you?" He teased.

"Ha ha."

"It's a pleasant surprise to see you here." Jesse whispered to Laurey who just shrugged in response and headed back over to the sofa.

The three of them then went on to spend the evening watching a reality tv marathon. They talked and joked and generally had a nice evening. Jesse and Laurey both noticed how Rachel was distancing herself from Jesse but they both understood. Laurey didn't give up hope, especially when Rachel blushed when Jesse complimented her.


	6. Rachel II

A/N: Thank you all you wonderful people for you reviews =] I'm glad that this is getting such a good response. So here's the next chapter, enjoy...

* * *

The next couple of weeks were strange for Rachel. It was weird for her having Jesse back in her life. She had spoken to her Dad's and they were happy that Jesse was finally going to be a part of their granddaughter's life. She was back at work; she had finally got the part of Eva Peron and was pushing herself hard in rehearsals. It wouldn't open for a while yet but when it did she wanted it to be amazing.

Since the night he had come over she had seen Jesse a couple of times. He came to pick up Laurey for a day out and when he'd brought her home they had ended up talking in the kitchen for a couple of hours. She had forgotten how easy it was for them to just talk. She made her way into her dressing room and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Jesse sitting in her chair.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as she walked into the room and closed the door.

"I was passing." He shrugged and she narrowed her eyes at him. "I am here to ask you out."

"Ask me out." She repeated.

"Yeah. As in a date. You know, when two like-minded individuals go to a restaurant, order some food, talk."

"Do these like-minded individuals eat the food they order?" She teased.

"Who knows maybe the woman will get so distracted by the man's charming good looks she won't be able to look away to feed herself."

"I've always wondered why some couples felt the need to feed each other." She joked.

"So… what do you say?"

"I don't know Jesse."

"Nothing has to happen if you don't want it to. I would like to spend some time with you though."

"Okay, but just casual. Not a date. A meal between friends."

He nodded but she noticed that he looked disappointed. "I'll pick you up tonight at seven." He told her before kissing her lightly on the cheek and leaving.

Rachel sighed. She desperately wanted to let him in, to give him a second chance that he was quickly showing himself worthy of, but there was something that was stopping her. She hadn't figured out what it was exactly but she wished it wasn't there.

It had only been about a week since he'd stormed back into her life though and as nice as it had been, everything was moving very fast. They needed to slow down. They weren't teenagers anymore and they had a daughter to consider. A daughter who was quickly becoming a daddy's girl with the way Jesse was spoiling her. It made Rachel smile but she couldn't help but wonder what would happen once he was done with Chicago. Would he just leave them and head back to LA? How could she be sure that he was telling the truth this time? She didn't want to invest everything, including Laurey, in something that might just be part time for him. He might mean it while he's in New York but what's stopping him from just forgetting about them once he returns to the west coast.

When Rachel got home she couldn't help but feel giddy about that evening, even though she had told him that it wasn't a date, but she didn't think her saying that would make him see it that way. He wanted her back, it was obvious but she needed to know that he was serious. She needed to know that he meant it and as much as she wished it, a week was not long enough for that.

It was coming up to seven and Rachel was standing in front of her wardrobe wearing her underwear still trying to decide what to wear. She had done her hair and her make up but she just couldn't pick an outfit. It was really stressing her out, she was ready to call and cancel. She was getting a stress headache.

She realised it was too late when she heard a knock on her front door. She opened her door slightly so she could check that it was Jesse. Laurey got up from the sofa where she was watching tv to go answer the door.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" She asked. She had spoken to Rachel about it before asking Jesse if he was comfortable with her calling him Dad. Rachel had encouraged her and Jesse's face when she asked still made Rachel smile.

"Oh, um, I…" He started and Rachel giggled. Jesse was never lost for words. "Is your Mom here?" He finally got out.

"Yeah, she's in her room." She told him. "Wait, are you two going out?" She asked.

"As friends." He told her but she didn't need to see Laurey's face to know she was rolling her eyes.

"Come in, I'll tell her you're here." She said and Rachel closed the door and quickly threw a robe on. Laurey knocked and Rachel invited her in.

"Dad's here." She told her. "For your date." She smirked.

Rachel coughed. "I meant to call; I think I'm coming down with something…"

"Whatever, Mom. Wear this and this." She said grabbing and outfit from her mother's wardrobe. "I'll tell him you'll be out in a minute."

Laurey walked out and Rachel proceeded to get dressed. She actually liked what Laurey picked out and didn't know why she didn't see it herself. She pulled on her shoes and headed into the living room.

"Hey." She greeted making them aware of her presence.

"Hey." Jesse smiled at her. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah just let me grab my purse and we can go." She darted into the kitchen before coming back to where Jesse was now standing near the door.

"Okay you kids have fun." Laurey teased and just as they were stepping out the door she continued. "And remember to use protection."

Rachel sent her daughter a dirty look while Jesse just laughed.

"Don't encourage her." Rachel slapped him lightly on the arm as they headed towards the elevator and he raised his arms in surrender.

"So where are we going?" Rachel asked.

"I thought we'd go to this Italian restaurant that my friend suggested."

"Sounds good." Rachel said politely.

Unfortunately they got stuck in an awkward silence as they made their way to the restaurant. This confused Rachel as it hadn't been like that at all in the past week. She knew she was nervous and wondered if he was too. They both attempted some small talk but it didn't really help, it just made it obvious just how awkward it was.

Finally, once they were seated in the restaurant Rachel excused herself to go to the bathroom. Once there she called Laurey.

"Mom, why are you calling? Is something wrong?" Laurey asked.

"It's a disaster!"

"What?"

"It's so awkward, so in about five minutes call me with an emergency so I have to come home."

"Mom, you're on a date with my Dad, if I call with an emergency he'll come too to make sure everything's okay and then he'll know there's no emergency."

"Then create a real one, just start a small fire or something."

"You're crazy." Laurey said as she hung up.

As Rachel made her way back to the table her phone buzzed alerting her to a text. It was from Laurey.

_Just relax._

Rachel scoffed, easy for her to say.

Rachel sat back down and smiled at Jesse.

"Who knew it would be this awkward?" He said.

"Not me." Rachel admitted.

"I've been trying to figure out if you'd believe that I got instantaneous food poisoning." He joked.

"I tried to convince Laurey to call with an emergency."

"Using our daughter." Jesse shook his head in mock disappointment. "Did she agree?"

"No, she pointed out that if you thought there was an emergency with her you'd just come too and there'd be no emergency." Rachel told him. "So I told her to start a small fire."

Jesse laughed. A deep laugh and he threw his head back. It made Rachel breathless and once she collected herself she laughed with him.

"You're crazy." He spoke fondly.

"That's what Laurey said and she told me to relax."

"Yeah, we're too nervous."

"I thought you didn't get nervous." Rachel took a sip of the wine that Jesse had ordered for them.

"I don't." He deadpanned. "No, the first audition I went on after I graduated I actually couldn't go into. I freaked out and just went home." He admitted.

"Why?" Rachel asked, curious.

"I was terrified that I'd wasted my time and was just fooling myself thinking that I was talented enough to make it."

"What made you change your mind?"

"I thought of everything I'd given up to get to where I was and if I didn't carry on then it would all have been for nothing." He spoke softly and Jesse knew that he was talking about her.

"Jesse…"

"I know I've said it before but I really regret how I ended us. It shouldn't have been like that. I should have admitted how much you meant to me and not let everything get in the way. I can't stop thinking about how different it would have been."

"So have I, Jesse and I think it had to be this way. Imagine if we'd stayed together or if you'd come back. We would have had Laurey, we wouldn't have been able to decide who should get to pursue their dream, we would have fought and we probably wouldn't have made it. If we'd been together with a baby we never would be where we are today."

"There's more to life than a career." Jesse said.

"I know, but imagine if neither of us had ours. Imagine if we were stuck in Ohio hating each other and blaming each other for the way things turned out?" She put to him. "I love Laurey and would never trade her in for the world but she made me even more certain that I needed to achieve my goals. I needed to set an example, I needed to do this all for her, she kept me going. I wouldn't have had that drive if I wasn't trying to do it on my own and neither would you."

"I still wish I could have been there. I'd give it all back for that."

"I'm sorry that I can never give you that." Rachel told him sincerely and rested her hand on top of his on the table. He turned so his palm was facing upwards and gripped Rachel's hand. The moment was ruined when the waiter came over to take their order, breaking them from the bubble they had been in.

After that they found it easy to talk and both had a great time. They decided to walk back to Rachel's apartment even though it was cold. Really, they both wanted to delay their goodbye for as long as possible.

"I want to be with you Rachel." Jesse admitted as they stopped outside of her building.

"Jesse."

"I don't want to waste any more time."

"Jesse."

"We belong together."

"Jesse!" She exclaimed and he stopped talking. "I would like that but I think we should take our time. We should date. Do this a few more times, get to know each other again, everything by the book."

"I think I can deal with that." He said smiling slightly. "If I remember correctly, Rachel Berry kisses on the first date." He teases.

"Only if it's a good date."

"Guess I'll have to wait then." He joked.

"Guess so." She smiled and just as she turned away he caught her arm and turned her back around to face him.

He paused and just held her to him before leaning down and kissing her softly on the lips. He pulled away before it got too passionate but when he opened his eyes he saw that Rachel's were still closed.

"Goodnight Rach." He said as she opened her eyes.

"Goodnight Jesse."

Rachel watched as he walked away down the street and made her way inside unable to hide the smile on her face.

When she woke up the next morning Laurey was already up.

"I'm guessing you didn't need that phone call since you stayed out so late."

"No, I may have over reacted. I had a really good time." She replied.

"Good, so I can tell Dad that then? He text me this morning to make sure you were still on board?" Laurey raised an eyebrow.

"We agreed to date." She admitted. "Are you okay with that?" She asked afterward.

"Definitely." She smiled.

"Don't get your hopes up. It's nothing serious right now."

"Sure." Laurey smiled serenely at her mom.

"I mean it."

"Then why can't you stop smiling?"


	7. Jesse II

Unfortunately, trying to date the mother of your only child is not easy. His need to get to know Laurey combined with her proximity to Rachel meant that he and Rachel ended up spending a lot of time together in close spaces and they were both unsure how to act. They had agreed to take things slowly but they were technically dating, so when in that situation how are you supposed to act when everything you do feels particularly domestic? They had been on a couple more dates, but the majority of their time together was spent at Rachel's apartment with Laurey, acting very much like a family. They still hadn't slept together so Jesse constituted that as them sticking to the taking it slow agreement.

Laurey's birthday was also coming up in a couple of weeks, just after the opening of Chicago, which Jesse had made sure they both had front row seats for.

"What do you want to do for your birthday?" Rachel asked Laurey as she came to join the two of them on the sofa one evening.

"I don't know. We could go out for a meal or something?" She suggested.

"That's not special enough. You can do that any day." Rachel argued.

"I just want to spend the day with you two, it'll be the first time we're together for my birthday. I don't need anything else to make it special." She said.

"Sure you do." Rachel said and Jesse rolled his eyes from behind her. "You two better not gang up on me."

"I didn't do anything." Jesse argued.

"I could tell from Laurey's expression that you did something, probably rolled your eyes." Rachel informed him exasperatedly.

"You know me so well." He teased and kissed her cheek before getting up to get a drink.

"You must want to do something." Jesse listened to Rachel and Laurey talking.

"I really don't. I'm not even too fussed about going out. We can just do something here."

"I can't believe this. I didn't spend seventeen hours in agonizing pain for you to treat this as any other day." Rachel exclaimed in mock anger and Laurey smiled.

"Well why don't we do something to celebrate you mom?" She joked.

"I would never take away from your day." Rachel wiped at fake tears, while smiling at Laurey who she knew she was wearing down.

"Fine. We can do something but I don't have any ideas so it's up to you." She sighed.

"Yay!"

"You were in labour for seventeen hours?" Jesse asked as he came to sit back down.

"Yup."

"That's a long time."

"I know, believe me, I know."

"And she likes to remind me every year." Laurey cut in.

Jesse laughed and put his arm around Rachel who leant into him. It wasn't long before he noticed that Rachel had fallen asleep. He caught Laurey's eye and she smiled at him.

"I'm really happy about you and mom." She told him.

"It's not really anything yet." He refuted.

"Yes it is. The way you look at each other proves it. You can tell yourselves that you're going slow but you're in love with her and she's in love with you. Once you're honest about that everything else will work out."

"How did you get so smart?" Jesse asked. "And rational." He added as an afterthought.

"Well it can't be my parents."

Jesse smiled at her.

"You should go to bed." He told her.

"Look at you being all parenty."

"Goodnight Laurey."

"'Night Dad." She said as she made her way into her bedroom.

"C'mon sleeping beauty." He muttered as lifted Rachel up and took her into her room. Knowing that Rachel would be uncomfortable sleeping in her clothes Jesse began to change her, locating her pyjamas on the bed. He turned to look at her and noticed that she had woken up.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I was going to change you out of your clothes because I know you hate sleeping in them. I was trying not to wake you."

She smiled at him. "You didn't need to do that."

"Sure I did." He leant down and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kept him in place.

"Stay with me tonight."

"What?"

She kissed him, clarifying. "Stay." She whispered.

"Are you sure?" He asked and she nodded.

\o\

Jesse woke up and saw Rachel watching him from her place beside him.

"Good morning beautiful." He smiled.

"Morning yourself." She replied.

"What's the time?" He asked.

"Almost seven."

"Ugh, too early."

"No, it's not. You need to get back to yours to freshen up and then get to rehearsal."

"I don't have to go in today." He told her smirking.

"You don't?"

"Nope."

"Me neither."

"Well isn't that a nice coincidence. However it does mean that you have woken me up early for absolutely no reason."

"I didn't wake you up." She defended and he raised an eyebrow.

"Rach, my leg hurts, I'm pretty sure you kicking me is the reason I woke up."

"Well when I tried to wake you any normal way it didn't work." She sighed exasperatedly and he chuckled.

"Well I don't know if you remember but I didn't exactly get much sleep last night."

"Oh, did I wear you out?"

"You know it." He smirked before rolling her on top of him and wrapping his arms around her waist. She moved to get her balance but leaned down to kiss him. She jumped when she heard a knock on the door.

"Mom?" They heard Laurey call.

"What is it?" She called back. Laurey started to open the door when Rachel yelled "Don't come in!"

"What the hell?" They heard Laurey mutter as Jesse laughed quietly. "Do you have my heart necklace? I wanted to wear it today."

"Hang on, let me check." Rachel said jumping out of bed and grabbing the first piece of clothing that she could find, which happened to be Jesse's t-shirt and pulling on a pair of panties. She noticed Jesse watching her from the bed and winked at him. She went over to her jewellery box and searched through it, finding the necklace Laurey wanted.

She went over and opened the door only slightly.

"Here you go." She handed the necklace over.

"Thanks." Laurey spoke unsurely and Jesse was sure that she was going to figure it out. "What are you wearing?"

"Oh just something I found in a bottom draw."

"Really, 'cause it looks like…" She paused and her face crinkled. "Oh, ew. Bye mom, bye Dad." She called before running out of the apartment.

Rachel closed her bedroom door and leant her head against it, not hearing Jesse walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"It's not funny." She said when she could feel him laughing against her neck.

"It's kind of funny."

"No it's not."

"It's not like she walked in on us or anything."

"Silver lining." Rachel laughed finally.

"Exactly. Now, what are we going to do with our day off?"

"I may have a few ideas." Rachel said turning around to kiss him.

Jesse and Rachel spent the entire day together, enjoying each other's company. They even worked on a couple of duets and showered and dressed quickly when they realised it was nearly time to Laurey to come home.

"You stay here and I'll go out and get something for dinner." She told him.

"Or we could just order in."

"No, we've ordered in practically for the past two weeks. I want us to have a freshly cooked family meal. If only so we don't all die of a heart attack in a couple of years." She told him and he smiled making his way over to her and wrapping his arms around her waist from the side.

"God, I love you." He said as he kissed her temple. She turned to him with a shocked expression and he laughed. "That can't come as a surprise to you, surely."

"I, it's, um, I love you too." She replied and he smiled. "I'll be back soon." She kissed him goodbye and headed out of the door.

He settled himself in front of the TV and picked up a magazine that was on the coffee table. He was reading it when Laurey arrived home from school.

"One day spent with mom and she turns you into a girl." She said as she joined him on the sofa. He laughed and put the magazine down.

"How was school?"

"Boring, the same as always." She answered. "But, Nate the bassist in my band, has got us a gig." She told him excitedly.

"Really? Where?" He asked enthusiastically.

"Ghost."

"No way." Jesse's enthusiasm disappeared.

"What?"

"There's no way you're going anywhere near that place, let alone playing in it."

"This is our first real gig. I can't miss it because my dad won't let me go." She argued.

"I wouldn't go in there myself, I'm not letting my fourteen year old daughter in there." He told her firmly.

"I'm almost fifteen."

"Irrelevant."

"This isn't fair." She whined. "You don't get to tell me what to do." She stomped away.

"If you think your mom will let you go you're crazy." He called after her as she slammed her bedroom door.

Jesse sighed. So that's what being a parent is like.

When Rachel arrived home Jesse was in the kitchen doing the washing up that they had left from breakfast and lunch.

"Why's Laurey got her music blaring?" She asked as she started to unpack the grocery bag.

"She's mad at me because I told her she couldn't play a gig in Ghost."

"What's ghost?" Rachel asked confused.

"It's a bar and I wouldn't even step foot in the place. There's a fight there almost every night and most of the patrons are men in their thirties, mostly ex-cons I think. Why they would want a teenage band is beyond me but there is no way-"

Rachel cut him off by kissing him. "It's so hot when you get all protective over her like that."

Jesse smirked and kissed her again, pulling her in closer. They stood in the kitchen making out for a while before Jesse pulled away.

"She hates me now."

"She doesn't hate you. She'll get over it. Welcome to the world of parenting." She smiled over her shoulder as she got out some saucepans to start cooking. When she went back to the counter to start chopping the vegetables Jesse stood behind her and rested his head on her shoulder, kissing her cheek and neck occasionally, just watching her cook. He got off of her when she asked for his help. They cooked dinner together and when it was ready Jesse went to get Laurey from her room.

"Hey, dinners ready." He told her after knocking and opening the door.

"I'm not hungry, I'll eat later." She said without looking up from her phone.

"Your mom wants us to have a family dinner. That means all of us at the table eating together."

"Well I don't want to be around you so she'll have to deal."

"Come on, don't be like that. Ghost isn't safe. I'd have to be an idiot to let you go." Laurey didn't respond. "I'm sorry if I upset you but-"

"But what, exactly? You come in here like you know how to be a dad or something. You've never been around before, you don't get to start calling the shots now." She spoke angrily.

"Laurey!" Rachel shouted from where she had just appeared next to Jesse. "Apologise." She grabbed Jesse's hand as he turned to walk away. Laurey stayed silent so Rachel continued. "You don't get to pick and choose when he's your dad. He's as much your dad when he's telling you he can't do something as he is when you guys are having a movie marathon. This is what a dad does."

"Josh never did. He left it all to you."

"Because he wasn't your real Dad. I thought that's what all this was about? You wanted a dad, you got one. He's not an older brother or a friend he's your dad and he's got to make decisions like this about you whether you like it or not."

"It's my life." She argued.

"Yes, but it's our job to look after you even if that gets in the way of your plans."

"This isn't just plans mom, this is my career."

"You don't need to play some rough club full of ex-cons to further your career."

"Mom, it could be the first step."

"No. There will be other chances. Any gigs over the next couple of years have to be approved by us. You're too young to be going to clubs all over New York to play and if Ghost is the type of place your bandmates are getting, don't get your hopes up." Rachel finished. "Now apologise."

"No." She said.

"Fine but don't come out until you do."

Rachel shut the door and turned to Jesse who looked upset.

"Don't let it get to you." She told him quietly as they made their way back to the living room. "You did the right thing. You are her dad and your acting like it. Unfortunately, our daughter has an uncanny knack of being able to pinpoint what she can say that will hurt the most."

Jesse sighed. "But she's right. I'm not really-"

"Stop talking right now." Rachel demanded. "I know I was the one against this in the beginning but you've proved me wrong Jesse. You're an amazing and natural father. She adores you, most of the time and today you proved that you really are her dad. You're not just doing the fun stuff and I know you feel like crap now but it'll be fine. She'll forget about it and everything will go back to normal. She's a stroppy hormonal teenager, it comes with the territory. Plus she's ours so that just adds to the dramatics of it." Rachel joked as she wrapped Jesse in a hug. "I love you."

"I love you too." He said and kissed her.

They both sat down at the table and ate their dinner, they didn't really talk but it was comfortable. After they plonked down in front of the TV, Rachel sits but Jesse lays down with his head in her lap.

They sat watching TV and Jesse revelled in the feeling of Rachel running her hands through his hair. He took hold of her other hand and held it on his chest as he fell asleep.


	8. Rachel III

A/N: Sorry this one took so long. I had written a completely different much more cheerful version but couldn't finish it so I changed it and added a bit of drama. Hope you enjoy it =]

* * *

It was a few days later and Laurey still hadn't apologised to Jesse. He had been busy getting ready for Chicago and hadn't been at theirs as much but Laurey hadn't made any attempt to apologise either. Rachel knocked on her door and walked into her bedroom.

"Why aren't you ready?" Rachel asked.

"I'm not going."

Rachel looked at Laurey in disappointment. "Do you know how much you'll hurt him if you don't go tonight?"

"He hurt me."

"No he didn't. He looked out for you and you acted like a brat because you didn't get your own way." Rachel spoke angrily. Laurey looked down but didn't say anything. "Get dressed. You are not missing this and you are not making us late."

"I don't want to go!" She shouted at Rachel.

"Tough." Rachel spat. "Why are you making such a big deal out of this?" Rachel asked in a slightly softer tone.

"Because it's important, I need to go this gig." Laurey spoke, then realised her mistake.

"Wait, it's tonight?" She asked and Laurey shook her head.

"No." She lied.

Rachel narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "I don't believe you. That's why you haven't apologised yet, it gives you the perfect excuse to go to your gig and not feel guilty." Rachel shook her head. "Do you not understand how dangerous it is? The reason your dad told you that you couldn't go was because he was worried about your safety, not out of some twisted pleasure in ruining your life. But even if it was in a venue I approved of you had to know that I wouldn't let you go tonight."

"Mom, that's not fair. I can go and see Chicago another night. This is a one-time opportunity."

"No it's not. Seeing your father's first opening night is a one-time opportunity, you playing this gig is something that is never going to happen. I can't believe how selfish your being. This means so much to your dad. He wants you there."

Laurey said nothing. Upset and angry at getting caught out she did not move from her bed.

"Fine." Rachel sighed. "You choose. If it means that much to you, go to the gig. The band will look after you but know that you missing Chicago tonight will be something that neither you nor your father will ever be able to change or do over."

Rachel walked out and Laurey looked guiltily at the door. She couldn't let her band down, they needed her. Her mom was right, they would look after her. She heard the front door close and started getting ready. Jesse would forgive her. It wasn't a big deal she tried to convince herself.

Rachel took her seat next to Josh in the front row and glanced at the empty seat beside her. She nodded to Josh but didn't try to start a conversation and neither did he. Looking at her watch she saw that the show would start in a few minutes and glanced towards the door hoping to see her daughter but turned back to the stage when there was no sign of her.

Rachel sat through the show trying to enjoy it for Jesse's sake but she couldn't stop worrying about Laurey. She had been sure that she would come to the show and not go to the gig, that's why she had made it seem like she let Laurey decide. She honestly thought she would come through and that she wouldn't miss this. She saw the hurt look on Jesse's face when he came out for his bow and saw her by herself. After the show she went backstage to see him. All the actors were listening to Josh talk and when he was finished she quickly made her way over to Jesse. She kissed him before wrapping him in a hug.

"You were amazing. I'm sorry she's not here, I thought she would come."

Jesse sighed dejectedly as Rachel's phone began to ring.

It was an unfamiliar number "Hello?"

Rachel paused as the person at the end of the line spoke. "Oh my God, no there's no one in there. Okay I'll be right there."

Jesse looked at her questioningly as she hung up the phone.

"There's a fire at my apartment." She told him.

"What as in your building?"

"No, my apartment!" She started hyperventilating. "Oh my God!"

"Come on, let's go." He said.

Rachel nodded and they headed out avoiding the stage door, just needing to get to Rachel's. Rachel had her phone out and was trying to call Laurey but was getting no answer. Rachel couldn't stop shaking the whole journey and Jesse had his arm wrapped around her trying to keep her steady. Once they reached the building they jumped out of the cab and pushed their way to the front of the crowd. They watched as firemen ran in to put out the blaze. Rachel stood frozen in horror. That was her home, her daughter's home. She thought of all the photographs, the memories, the little things that she had been given or bought herself after a special experience, all her playbills, all Laurey's baby things. She wondered if any of it would be retrievable. Judging by the blaze she could see raging in the apartment, probably not.

Just then Jesse tugged on her arm hard and she turned to see that a fireman was carrying someone out. "No!" She yelled, tears starting to pour down her face. "No! She wasn't supposed to be there."

She could see the Jesse was frozen and they pushed forward only to be stopped by a fireman. "I can't let you any further." He said.

Jesse glared at him. "That's our daughter." He spoke angrily pointing to Laurey's lifeless form that was now being placed on an ambulance gurney. The man let them through and they both ran over, a few members of the crowd watching them in morbid fascination, some even recognising Jesse.

Rachel had tears streaming down her face as Jesse gripped her hand firmly trying to hold back his own and failing.

"We're her parents." Rachel told the paramedic who nodded and motioned for them to get into the ambulance after she put Laurey in. They got in and Rachel gripped Laurey's hand. Her skin was covered in smoke but Rachel could see that she was wearing the dress she had bought for her to wear to Chicago. Rachel cried harder and Jesse rubbed her back while gripping her arm. He was sitting next to her but with the way she was sitting forward it was more like he was sitting behind her. Jesse too had noticed that Laurey did not look like she had been headed for the gig, part of him wished she had, she probably would have left earlier if she had been going to the gig.

Once they were at the hospital Laurey was rushed away from them and Rachel crumpled into his arms. He pulled her into the waiting area and she sobbed into his chest. He kept his head bowed so his tears were soaking into her hair.

"I can't lose her."

"You won't." He told her.

"But what if…" She trailed off unable to say more.

"Don't think like that. She'll be fine. She has to be."

They decided not to say anything else, instead just waited for news of Laurey's condition. While they were sitting there a fireman turned up. It seemed that his wife was one of the nurses and Rachel and Jesse overheard him telling her the cause of the fire. It was a curling iron in the master bedroom.

Rachel gasped and fresh tears poured down her face. Jesse glared at the fireman's retreating back.

"It was all my fault." She cried.

"No, it was an accident."

"If anything happens to her, it'll be my fault."

"Nothing's going to happen to her and it's not your fault. You didn't do it on purpose."

"That doesn't change the fact that it is my fault."

Jesse realised that there was going to be no way to convince her otherwise and so just pulled her closer to him, whispering comforting words in her ear. Jesse knew if something did happen to Laurey, Rachel would never be able to forgive herself.

They went back to waiting and a few minutes later Josh came running into the hospital.

"One of the stage hands overheard you." He told them in response to their questioning look. "But you could have called me." He carried on angrily.

"Sorry, but I was a little bit preoccupied with the fact that my daughter's in there fighting for her life!" Rachel shouted back, taking out all her frustrations on him.

"I still should have been told."

Just as Rachel was about to argue back, Jesse stepped in. "Shut up, both of you. Rachel hasn't called anyone." He told Josh before turning to Rachel. "Don't say something you will regret." He warned her. She deflated and leant into him before nodding. Josh watched in surprise, once Rachel was angry he didn't think anyone could talk her down. He should have known that Jesse was the only person who could handle her.

"Are you Lauren Berry's family?" A doctor asked.

"Yes, we're her parents." Rachel said gesturing towards herself and Jesse and Josh flinched slightly.

"Well, your daughter clearly knows a lot about fire safety, it could have been a lot worse. She inhaled quite a bit of smoke and so she needed help breathing. She has a few minor burns but we expect her to make a full recovery. Would you like to see her?"

Rachel let out a sigh of relief and nodded. Grabbing Jesse's hand she followed the doctor towards Laurey's room. They walked in and Rachel began crying again. She could barely stand to see her with the flu let alone unconscious in a hospital bed. Rachel dropped into the chair next to the bed while Jesse stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. He looked around and noticed Josh walking away. He wanted to call him back but knew that it would be awkward, he could visit tomorrow.

"Thank you." She spoke softly.

"For what?"

"For being so strong through all of this. I don't know how I would have coped without you here." She pulled his arms that were resting on her shoulders down around her neck so that his head was resting on hers. After a little while, Jesse moved the chair that was on the other side of the bed round so that he and Rachel could sit next to each other. Rachel eventually fell asleep but Jesse stayed awake unable to take his eyes off of Laurey. At about eight in the morning Josh came back.

Jesse looked up when he walked into the room. "She's still not awake?" Josh asked.

"No, but the nurse assured me that it's fine. She'll wake up in her own time."

Josh nodded but still looked quite serious. "What it is?" Jesse asked.

Josh took a deep breath. "The story broke. The fire was enough to draw a bit of attention but quite a few people saw you and heard you say Laurey was your daughter. It's all over the tabloids."

Jesse sighed. "To be honest, I'm surprised that it stayed quiet for so long but we probably shouldn't tell Rachel for a while."

"She'll find out soon enough."

"I know but she's beating herself up enough already as it is, she doesn't need to worry about Laurey and I being in every rag."

"Why's she beating herself up?"

"They think the cause of the fire was her curling iron."

"Oh."

"But it was an accident." Jesse spoke harshly and defensively. Even if Rachel blamed herself she didn't need other people thinking that it was her fault. Josh nodded, surprised how protective Jesse was of Rachel. He had assumed that they were getting along and maybe getting closer but it seemed as if they were already in a full-fledged relationship.

The silence left from their conversation was then broken by a voice they had both been dying to hear.

"Dad?"


	9. Jesse III

"Dad?"

Jesse and Josh both froze turning to look at Laurey who now had her eyes open and was looking at them. Josh moved back when he realised that Laurey was looking directly at Jesse.

Jesse jumped and moved closer to her taking her hand in his. "I'm here." He told her.

She tried to move up but Jesse placed a soft hand on her shoulder to stop her. "What happened?"

Jesse noticed that her voice was scratchy and poured her a glass of water. "There was a fire at the apartment but you're going to be fine."

Josh backed out of the room feeling like he was intruding on a private moment.

"What do you remember?" Jesse asked her and he could see her trying to remember.

She scrunched her face up slightly with the effort. "I got in the shower then got dressed and I was about to do my hair when I smelt something. I went to check the living room but once I opened the door I saw all the smoke." She paused and looked at Jesse who nodded encouragingly. "I tried to crawl to the door but it was blocked by the fire so I went back to my room, put a towel under the door and then went back into my bathroom. I can't remember anything after that."

Jesse nodded and not really knowing what to say he sat on the edge of her bed and pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm sorry for being such a bitch." He could feel her crying into his shirt and hugged her tighter.

"It's okay, if my parents had been around to say that kind of thing I would have thrown a fit."

They sat there for a while not moving, Laurey was still crying. "I was so scared." She admitted quietly.

"Me too." He whispered into her hair. "I love you so much I don't want anything to ever hurt you."

"I love you too Dad." She told him.

"We should probably wake your mom up." He told her and he moved off of the bed and around to Rachel where he shook her shoulder gently. "Rach."

"Hmmm?" She turned her head and opened her eyes. Noticing that Laurey was awake she burst into tears. She jumped up and wrapped her daughter in a hug. Clinging to her and whispering words of comfort into her ear. Jesse moved back to previous spot on the other side of Laurey's bed.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." Rachel kept repeating.

"Mom, what do you have to be sorry for?" Laurey asked confused.

"My curling tongs started the fire. It was all my fault."

"No, mom. It's not your fault. I shouldn't have been there anyway." She looked guiltily at Jesse who just smiled softly.

"How about you stop playing the blame game and we just be happy that everyone is okay?" He suggested and they both nodded.

"When will I be able to go-" Laurey stopped and Rachel realised what she was going to say.

Jesse jumped in. "You'll both come and live with me. My place is big enough for the three of us and we can make any decisions from there."

Rachel nodded. She too had been so preoccupied with Laurey's safety that she had completely forgotten that she would need to find somewhere to live.

Soon a doctor came in to check on Laurey, he did a few tests and told them that she could be discharged today. They all smiled gratefully and Rachel arranged some clothes for the both of them to change into. While Rachel and Laurey were changing Jesse got a call from his agent. There were paparazzi outside of the hospital hoping to see them and Joe, his agent really wanted him to release a statement as soon as possible. Jesse rattled off something for Joe to use and hung up the phone. Rachel stepped in wearing a pair of jeans and a black sweater. Jesse moved forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning back to talk to her.

"My agent called. There are paparazzi outside waiting for us and he's releasing a statement from me."

Rachel nodded thoughtfully. "Can you call your agent and make it a joint statement so I won't have to do one as well?"

"Sure." He said surprised at how well she was taking it. "Do you want a say in what it says?"

"Yeah, can we wait to sort that out until we get back to yours though?" She said just as Laurey walked in.

"So are we facing the paps or finding a back way out?" Laurey asked as she walked in. She had heard them talking from the en-suite bathroom where she had changed.

"It's up to you two." Jesse said.

"I'd rather avoid it." Laurey said and her parents nodded. "Shall we go?" She gestured to the door.

They managed to leave the hospital unseen and it wasn't long before they were at Jesse's. He set up the guest room for Laurey and she went to lie down. Rachel and Jesse sat down at the kitchen table and soon Joe arrived.

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Rachel greeted as she opened the door and lead him.

"You too. I'm sorry to add this extra problem right now."

Rachel shook her head. "It's fine, I knew this would come sooner or later."

They walked into the kitchen and found Jesse sitting there. "Hey man." Joe greeted and Jesse nodded tersely. "Sorry to do this today." Jesse, like Rachel had, shook his head knowing it was unavoidable and definitely wasn't Joe's fault.

"Okay, let's get this sorted." Rachel said and they all sat down at the kitchen table. Joe got out his ipad to write down the statement and release to the press as soon as possible.

"Okay, what do you want it to say? All people know at the moment is that Jesse referred to Lauren as both of yours."

"I don't want Laurey named." Rachel told them. "I want as many of her details as possible kept private."

"Of course." Joe said.

"How about we say that Rachel and I have a daughter together and are now in a relationship?" Jesse suggested.

"But what about when they ask why we have never been seen together or why they didn't know about Laurey? I got away with it because I'm not that well known outside of Broadway but you're a huge star Jesse. People know you."

"She's right." Joe told them. "You can leave them to make their own assumptions but it'll probably stay in the public eye longer that way."

"People have kept relationships quiet before, why wouldn't they believe that we did."

"Jesse, you've had quite high profile relationships with other women. Even if you were to say they were all publicity stunts there is nothing stopping them from coming forward and refuting that and remember not all of them finished on friendly terms."

Rachel's face scrunched up slightly and Jesse sent her an apologetic look. "You don't have to protect me Jesse. We can say you only found out recently." She told him.

"But that will paint you as the bad guy and we both know that's not accurate."

"Well we're not exactly going to give them our entire history are we?" Rachel started to get annoyed. "Let's say that you recently found out about her and we have reconnected. Then ask for privacy."

"I think Jesse should do an interview." Joe said.

"What?" Jesse looked at Rachel uncertainly.

"We don't ask for privacy, we'll assure them that Lauren is okay and has recovered well and finish the statement there and then I'll find an interview for you to do. Would prefer TV or print? Print is probably better for an interview like this. I also think you two should be seen at an event or something together. I'll find a premiere or something for you to go to, maybe Laurey too."

"I'm fine with Jesse doing an interview but right now Laurey and I have no clothes so I think we'll put off any public appearances."

"Okay, but I'll release the statement and find an interview for Jesse." Joe said as he packed away his ipad and stood up. They said goodbye and he left the apartment.

Jesse sighed as he closed the door and headed back into the living room with Rachel following behind. He sat down on the sofa and Rachel sat next to him leaning into his side.

"This interview will be horrible. I don't want the whole world knowing my business." He spoke. It was the one thing he hated. He didn't mind having his picture taken and he didn't mind frivolous red carpet interviews but he didn't enjoy having to share every detail of his life. He had always been a private person especially when it came to things that were personal to him.

"It won't be that bad." Rachel attempted to soothe him. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Keep it relatively vague, let them know you're happy and there's no drama here and they'll forget all about it soon enough."

"I suppose."

"I love you." She told him.

He smiled softly. "I love you too." He whispered into her hair before lifting her chin and kissing her heavily on the lips. They stayed like that for a while before Jesse pulled Rachel up to go to bed.

Later as they lay together, Rachel resting her head on his chest and Jesse tracing shapes into her arm and shoulder.

"I can't believe it's all gone." She finally broke the silence and Jesse pulled her to him tighter. He had been waiting for the moment it would hit her, he knew she had thought about it but she had been mostly focused on Laurey so she still hadn't dealt with it. "So many things I can't get back or replace."

"You still have the memories." He tried to comfort. He felt tears dropping onto his chest and turned so he was facing Rachel and wrapped both of his arms around her, letting her cry. He could make out some words but he knew that she was listing everything that was irreplaceable. Jesse didn't know what he could say to make her feel better, it was a screwed up situation and those things were gone forever and he couldn't fix it for her. He just let her cry. Eventually she fell asleep and Jesse watched her for a while, knowing that she would get past this.

The next morning Jesse got up and saw in an email from Joe that he managed to get him an interview with GQ for that afternoon.

"Great." He muttered to himself and began making breakfast. Just as he was cooking the pancakes Laurey wandered into the kitchen, her eyes full of sleep and her hair a mess.

"Good morning." He smiled.

"Hmphf." He got in reply as she picked up the orange juice and drank it straight from the carton.

"You know there's a new invention called a glass." Jesse spoke sarcastically and received an eye roll.

"Didn't you get the memo that dads aren't funny?"

"You wound me."

She laughed and sat down at the kitchen table which Jesse had already laid out with plates and cutlery.

"How are you feeling this morning?" He asked her.

"I'm okay, the burns are a bit itchy but the cream helped."

"Did you change the dressing?"

"Yeah, it was gross."

Jesse laughed and looked up to see Rachel watching them from the doorway, a smile lighting up her face.

"Something smells good." She said as she walked over and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Vegan blueberry pancakes." He informed her as she poured herself a glass of orange juice and Jesse pointedly watched her causing Laurey to throw a napkin at him.

"Joe called. He got me an interview with GQ for today." He told Rachel.

"Wow, that was quick."

"What's going on?" Laurey asked.

"My agent thought it would be best if I gave an interview because the statement didn't really explain much and he thinks it'll be the best way to get people off our backs."

Laurey nodded. "I wonder what people are saying."

"It doesn't matter." Jesse spoke quite harshly. "What I mean is, they don't know me or your mom or you so anything they say is complete crap." He went on in a softer tone after a glare from Rachel.

"I suppose."

"It'll blow over soon." Jesse told her as he and Rachel took their seats on either side of her at the table.

Once they finished breakfast Laurey went to her room to get dressed and Rachel got up and sat on Jesse's lap.

"You know you take your own advice. Don't let them get to you." She told him, referring to the press.

"It's just hard. I googled us earlier and it's not great. People can be so harsh when it comes to gossip and especially on the internet where it's all so anonymous." He sighed. "I don't want Laurey to see it."

"There's no way we can stop her from seeing or hearing this stuff if it's out there but we can let her know how much we love her and even if they're calling her a mistake or a teenage screw up or anything worse that I don't want to even think about then we'll just make sure she knows she's not."

Jesse nodded and rested his head on her chest, his arms securely wrapped around her waist. He realised how unbalanced the last couple of days had been, going from him comforting her and back again over and over. It was working though, neither of them had snapped.

"You better get ready, you'll have to leave soon." She told him.

"Will you come with me?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I want you there."

"I don't want to leave Laurey alone." She told him.

"She could go to Josh's. She hasn't seen him in a while." He suggested.

She smiled and kissed him, letting him know that she would be going with him. A couple of hours later after they dropped Laurey off, they walked into an office building holding hands. Jesse was shaking slightly but Rachel soothed him by rubbing circles on the back of his hand with her thumb.

They waited in a comfortable room where the interview would be conducted. There was also going to be a photo shoot so they expected to be there for a while. Soon enough they were joined by the woman doing the interview.

"Hello, thank you for stepping in last minute Mr St. James." She said it in a way that he knew that she knew they were doing him as much of a favour as he was for them after their previous interviewee pulled out.

The interview went well and soon enough he was sitting in a chair having make up applied and his hair styled. Rachel stood to the side as the started taking the photos and watched him. She teased him about being a natural poser and he stuck his tongue out at her. She had managed to keep mostly silent during the interview only making a few comments. They went home after, Laurey decided to stay at Josh's overnight so they had the apartment to themselves.

A/N: I know he wouldn't have gotten an interview that quickly but just go with it =]


	10. Laurey III

The following Monday Laurey headed to school unsure of what the response would be. She didn't know if people would have put two and two together or if everyone would know and would be talking about her. She wasn't sure if she cared. It wasn't long before her question was answered. As she walked down the hallway she could feel the stares and hear the whispers. She couldn't hear exactly what they were saying about her but she knew they were definitely talking about her. She tried to ignore them and opened her locker.

She looked at the picture in her locker of her and her mom together in a photo booth. Her mom had told her that she'd had a picture like that with her dads in her locker at high school and wanted to pass on the tradition. She was glad there were at least some pictures that survived. There were tonnes on Facebook and stuff but the more private and special ones had never been put up and the computer had been destroyed in the fire so they couldn't get them either. Luckily, her mom's guilt had completely vanished when they were informed that it wasn't her curling iron that started the fire it was actually and electrical fault in the building.

"Lauren Jessica Berry!" She heard a voice shout from behind her and she turned to see her best friend Kate standing there. "Is there anything you want to tell me?" She asked. Laurey looked at her confused.

"You turn your phone off for an entire week so I can't check that you're alright and I don't even know where you are! And then, to top it off, it turns out that your dad is Jesse-Freaking-St. James and you never told me."

Laurey could tell she was joking and rolled her eyes. "My cell burnt in the fire."

"That's all you say. Really?"

"I'm sorry that I didn't mention that my dad was Jesse-freaking-St. James, as you put it but honestly when I was telling you all the stuff about meeting him I didn't actually think of it like that. I don't see him like that, he's just my dad. I thought I would have to adjust to it but up until now everything has been completely normal and him being a huge Hollywood star hasn't really come up." She explained.

"But still."

Laurey laughed slightly. "What are you going to do when you meet him? Start screaming like a fan girl?"

"Of course not, I will be dignified and cool." They started walking towards their class. "Have you told him about me?"

"Of course I have." She smirked evilly.

"Oh god, what did you say?"

"Nothing terrible."

"Laurey, come on!"

"I didn't say anything!" She gave in. "I was just teasing, all he knows is that you're my best friend."

"Okay then."

They walked into the classroom and took their seats. The bell hadn't gone yet but the teacher, Miss Harwood was already sitting at the desk.

"Nice to have you back Miss Berry." She spoke and Laurey just nodded. She wasn't the nicest woman and hated if you missed her class but Laurey was sure that being caught in a house fire was a reasonable excuse for missing a few days of school.

Miss Harwood went back to the magazine that she was reading and Laurey realised that it was GQ and her dad was on the cover.

"Damn, your dad is so hot." Kate spoke from next to her.

Laurey glared at her. "If she doesn't put that down everyone will start talking about it and I won't be able to walk away like I could in the halls." Laurey complained.

"She can't be seen reading a magazine while she should be teaching."

"It doesn't mean she'll put it away. It seems like the kind of evil thing she would do."

"Yeah, but can you blame her? I can barely tear my eyes away."

"Okay, one, that isn't helping and two, I'm definitely telling my Dad that."

"No! You can't!"

She laughed. Luckily the teacher did put it away and due to her being quite strict no one spoke during her lessons. The rest of the day continued in much the same way as it had begun but eventually she managed to tune it out. On the way home she bought a copy of GQ and she Kate headed back to hers to read it. Her mom and dad were both at work but they still went into her bedroom to read it. Once settled on her bed and listening to music she began to read it.

_It appears that it has been quite a busy time for Jesse St. James. He just made his Broadway debut as Billy Flynn in Chicago to tremendous reviews but what really has everyone talking is his relationship with Broadway star Rachel Berry and their fourteen year old daughter. Their daughter Laurey was caught in the fire in the apartment she lives in with her mother. "Laurey was running late _[for the opening night of Chicago] _so she was at the apartment getting ready when the fire started. We didn't know about the fire until after the show but we were incredibly lucky." Jesse says and you can see that he is still a bit shaken up. "It could have been much worse but she was smart and wasn't too badly hurt." It was however her being brought out of the building unconscious that led to the media discovering her identity. "We weren't hiding it." Jesse speaks as he takes Rachel Berry's hand who is sitting on the couch next to him. "It's been complicated but we never purposely hid it, it was just that no one saw us together and we didn't feel the need to announce it to the world."_

_The media has been alive with speculation as to their relationship and the story behind them even though the story only broke a few days ago. "I didn't know about Rachel's pregnancy." Jesse admits. "I had gone to college and we had a terrible break up." He explains but looks at Rachel while he speaks. "Rachel's ex, Laurey's step-dad is the director of Chicago and he told me about Laurey. I couldn't believe it. When I met Laurey, it was something I can't even describe. She was so like Rachel I felt like I'd gone back in time. She's amazing, I love her to pieces." _

_When I move away from topics that are clearly still quite raw for them both and onto their relationship they both brighten up slightly. "I honestly believe she's my soul mate." Jesse tells me directly, certainty dripping from every word. "I really screwed up with her last time but getting a second chance with her now is my dream. Finding her again and Laurey as well has turned my life around, I can't even remember what it was like before. They fill up the emptiness inside." He speaks softly and reverently and a tear glistens in Rachel's eye as she smiles at him. _

_It's safe to assume that they are happy. "We are. Most people would find it hard to move past everything we have but we're meant to be. I'm drawn to her."_

_Something that is incredibly noticeable is how alike they are. They seem to agree on most things even while making small talk or when the hair stylist for the photo shoot comes over to discuss styles, they agree on everything. They are incredibly in sync but they only reconnected six weeks ago. "Like I said, we're meant to be together. Time doesn't affect that type of connection. We were a bit unsure to begin with but I didn't want to waste any more time by not being with her and I managed to convince her to give us a try."_

_Despite having told me she was just here for support, Rachel now jumps in. "I'm glad. We'll last this time." _

_Rachel and Jesse had a relationship in high school, Rachel got pregnant, never told Jesse and he found out six weeks ago but they are happier now than they have ever been._

"_It sounds a bit unbelievable when you put it like that but for us there's just so much there that time doesn't really come into it. Rachel did worry that we were moving too fast but I love her and I love Laurey, I don't want to waste any time I have with them."_

Laurey finishes reading and smiles. It was a bit mushy but it got the message across. They were happy. Jesse was happy, Rachel was happy and they loved her. She looked to the pictures that accompanied the interview. In the main one, he's smiling but looking just to the left of the camera. It's not hard to realise that her mom must have been standing there. The next picture is of him looking straight into the camera while brushing a hand through his hair. The next two are her favourites, they must have somehow convinced her mom to be in one of the pictures because he is holding her hand and pulling her into shot. He's in the middle of talking and she's trying to turn back around and walk away. In the next one, he's caught her in his arms and is kissing her cheek while she laughs. They're amazing pictures and she wonders if she can get hold of the originals and all the pictures. She hands the magazine to Kate who reads through it quickly.

"Aw, they're so cute together." She points to the last photo.

"Yeah, it's kind of gross really."

"You're all one big happy family." She teases.

"Laurey?" They hear Rachel call from the living room and head out to great her. "Hi Kate." She says when she sees her daughter's best friend standing there.

"Have you read it?" Laurey asks enthusiastically.

"I was there." She says. "But yes I did read it. What did you think?"

"I loved it." She smiled. "Do you have the original copies of the pictures?"

"No but I can ask your dad to get them."

"Great, I want to put them up in my room."

Rachel smiled at her, happy that she was settling in at Jesse's well. They still weren't certain as to how permanent it was but she was sure they would talk about it soon. "Are you staying for dinner?" She asked Kate.

"If you'll have me." She accepted and Rachel headed into the kitchen to start on dinner.

Laurey and Kate went back into the living and turned on the laptop and the TV. Laurey knew that she was asking for trouble but she wanted to see what people were saying. She knew that the internet wasn't the best place for it but it would do.

She searched her parent's names in Google as Kate sat next to her.

"I don't think this is a good idea Laurey."

"It's meaningless words. It doesn't matter what these people say."

"Then why are you looking?"

"I just want to know what's out there."

Kate decided to bite her tongue, Laurey wasn't going to change her mind that much was clear. Laurey clicked on the first article which took her to a gossip site that was reporting on the GQ interview and had included pictures.

The article basically summed up the interview but with an added slice of humour. Laurey scrolled down to read the comments.

There were some commenting on how cute they were, some saying that they loved Jesse, some asking who cared but in amongst them were some quite vicious comments.

_What the hell? They have a bastard child together and suddenly they're the happiest people on earth? I bet it's all a lie they've concocted so they don't look bad._

_What a bitch! I can't believe she didn't tell him about his child._

There were a few more but Laurey decided that she didn't want to read them. She closed the internet and turned to Kate who just smiled sympathetically.

"Remember, they don't matter."

Laurey nodded mindlessly and they were interrupted by the door opening. Kate's eyes widened slightly and Laurey bit back a laugh.

"Hey." He greeted as he came in.

"Hi, this is Kate." Laurey introduced her.

"It's nice to finally meet you, I've heard a lot about you." He smiled and Kate had to remind herself that this was her best friend's dad. Kate, not knowing what to say smiled and nodded before Jesse turned into the kitchen.

"First time I think I've ever seen you speechless." Laurey joked after Jesse left the room.

"Shut up." She muttered.


End file.
